Friday, February 13, 2004
At long last, here is our first post from Germany. It took us a little while to get back online, but finally we made it. I won't go into the details from the flight over, it went as well as it could with me, 2 dogs and a 2 year old. Very long but everyone except me slept quite a bit.
Here we are waiting at the gate - all of this stuff goes with me on the plane. We lucked into a row of 5 seats by ourselves so that was great. Amazingly we made it thru customs and found Kenny. And then it was on to the hotel, and Kenny went and got us a schnitzel dinner from Stinkys down the road (an old favorite from when we were here before). We all passed out at 7pm and aside from a milk and cookie break at 130am we all slept until 9am. Then we went and found a place to live. I used to work for a lady named Gerda who also does real estate, and she showed us a few places. We settled on a place in Wolframs-Eschenbach, more like a townhouse than an apartment. It has a small yard for Jacob and the dogs, and is a very family friendly neighborhood. I finally got my ID card so I can move about freely on the Army post - and got a spiffy little rental car.
So Jacob and I have been running around every day trying to get all the little things done so we can feel more settled in. I have no idea when our things will arrive from the states, mid March is the best estimate. Jacob is settling in, he loves the yard and likes to play in the snow.
The first night we came to the house to drop off some things, we came in the dark. We had only come once, when we looked at it. So we were trying to find it again and having no luck. So we drive by a fire station and I tell Kenny to stop so I can go in and ask for directions - I know they will at least have a great map. I go in and ask in my awful German for directions, and show them my address on the rental form. One fireman comes out and is trying to tell me how to go - pointing down the road and waving his arms. Then his coworker comes out and he speaks great English, but still the directions are totally confusing. "You go here, then cross and turn left - then around and right, then left and more left" What????? So the first guy says - "you stay here , I go with your mate in the car and show him". So off they go, luckily I'm left with the fellow who speaks English. He is eager to talk so we talk about how many fires they have (only 2 so far this year, and a few bad accidents), why we are there, where we came from. When I tell him Tennessee he gets very excited and says "Jack Daniels Whiskey - yes?" So I tell him, yes, it's not too far from where we lived. "Do you have connections (as he laughs) to get me some for less money?" So folks, that is what the state of Tennessee is known for over here in Germany :) Eventually Kenny returns and off we go to the house. Which we never would have found without their help, so maybe we will stop by the firehouse with a bottle of Jack Daniels for our new friends.
Here we are waiting at the gate - all of this stuff goes with me on the plane. We lucked into a row of 5 seats by ourselves so that was great. Amazingly we made it thru customs and found Kenny. And then it was on to the hotel, and Kenny went and got us a schnitzel dinner from Stinkys down the road (an old favorite from when we were here before). We all passed out at 7pm and aside from a milk and cookie break at 130am we all slept until 9am. Then we went and found a place to live. I used to work for a lady named Gerda who also does real estate, and she showed us a few places. We settled on a place in Wolframs-Eschenbach, more like a townhouse than an apartment. It has a small yard for Jacob and the dogs, and is a very family friendly neighborhood. I finally got my ID card so I can move about freely on the Army post - and got a spiffy little rental car.
So Jacob and I have been running around every day trying to get all the little things done so we can feel more settled in. I have no idea when our things will arrive from the states, mid March is the best estimate. Jacob is settling in, he loves the yard and likes to play in the snow.
The first night we came to the house to drop off some things, we came in the dark. We had only come once, when we looked at it. So we were trying to find it again and having no luck. So we drive by a fire station and I tell Kenny to stop so I can go in and ask for directions - I know they will at least have a great map. I go in and ask in my awful German for directions, and show them my address on the rental form. One fireman comes out and is trying to tell me how to go - pointing down the road and waving his arms. Then his coworker comes out and he speaks great English, but still the directions are totally confusing. "You go here, then cross and turn left - then around and right, then left and more left" What????? So the first guy says - "you stay here , I go with your mate in the car and show him". So off they go, luckily I'm left with the fellow who speaks English. He is eager to talk so we talk about how many fires they have (only 2 so far this year, and a few bad accidents), why we are there, where we came from. When I tell him Tennessee he gets very excited and says "Jack Daniels Whiskey - yes?" So I tell him, yes, it's not too far from where we lived. "Do you have connections (as he laughs) to get me some for less money?" So folks, that is what the state of Tennessee is known for over here in Germany :) Eventually Kenny returns and off we go to the house. Which we never would have found without their help, so maybe we will stop by the firehouse with a bottle of Jack Daniels for our new friends.
